The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) is the largest

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

with over 300,000 members. The union is run by

nurses Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

midwives A midwife (: midwives) is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialisation known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their ...

and assistants in nursing/personal carers to advance the industrial, political and professional interests of the nursing and midwifery professions. ANMF is a federated union, with branches in each state and territory in Australia.

History

The Victorian Trained Nurses’ Association was founded in 1901 when nurses worked 52 hours per week and no qualifications were required. The Federation of state organisations was founded in 1924 (then known as the Australian Nursing Federation) and the first secretary was Evelyn Paget Evans who was also the secretary of the Australasian Trained Nurses Association and the General secretary of the Australian Physiotherapy Association (which was then called the Australian Massage Association} who also managed the Australasian Nurses' Journal. Evans believed in long hours for nurses and strikes were outlawed. Two years prior to this, on 24 February 1922, The Trained Nurses' Guild had gained registration. This registration was opposed by other nursing organisations including The Royal Victorian Trained Nurses Association. The registration was upheld, however the Guild was not active until being amalgamated with the ANF in the late 1940s under its new name of the Australian United Nurses Association. In 1984 Barbara Carson, who was the branch secretary in Victoria, led a successful campaign to remove a clause in the Victoria branch rules that prohibited strikes. In the following year she led a successful five-day strike against nurses being required to do non-nursing duties. Carson's successor Irene Bolger led another longer strike in 1986. In October 1986, 5,000 nurses voted at a group meeting to go on an indefinate strike. The strike lasted 50 days and resulted in an increased offer from the state of Victoria.

Leadership

All of the Federal Executive and Federal Council of the ANMF are qualified nurses and/or midwives. ANMF members are employed in a wide range of enterprises in urban,

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

and remote locations in both in the

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and the

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sectors, including

hospitals A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergency ...

, health and community services,

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, aged care, GP clinics, schools, the

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, statutory authorities,

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, offshore territories and industry.

Campaigns

The ANMF runs campaigns for all members throughout Australia, such as its ongoing campaign to legally mandate staffing ratios for aged care. The ANMF has a range of national policies, guidelines, and position statements on nursing, health, and social justice issues for the guidance of members in their practice and at their workplaces.

Federal structure

The ANMF is federally registered. Most branches also have a state-registered union, operating as the union in the state industrial relations system. The NSW branch operates as the New South Wales Nurses and Midwives' Association; the Queensland branch operates as the Queensland Nurses and Midwives' Union.

International representation

The ANMF represents Australian nursing internationally through links with other national and international nursing organisations, professional associations and the International Labour Organisations. The ANMF is a member of the Commonwealth Nurses and Midwives Federation and the South Pacific Nurses Forum and is affiliated to the

Australian Council of Trade Unions The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated trade union, unions and eight t ...

, International Centre for Trade Union Rights, and APHEDA, also known as Union Aid Abroad, the overseas aid agency of the Australian trade union movement.

References

External links

ANMF website
{{Authority control 1924 establishments in Australia Public sector trade unions in Australia Healthcare trade unions in Australia National Rural Health Alliance organisations Nursing organisations in Australia Trade unions affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions Trade unions established in 1924